Gotta Be Somebody
by rocktheworldlew
Summary: 17 yr old Kelly Blank has always been a shy & quiet girl. As she starts spending time with her older brother Adam & his crazy band she's sure she will come out of her shell. Suddenly, tragedy strikes and Adam is gone. She can't cry or feel. However, when her father's job sends them to the city of Clyde Hill, 3 hrs away she meets a group of people that help her find herself again.
1. Clean Slate

**A/N: **_**Hey there lovelies. I bring back this amazing story because I finally have all the inspiration in the world to write it. I hope you enjoy it so far and don't forget to check out the trailer to it on my new Youtube channel:**_**TheMuseofEvol.**

* * *

**Clean Slate**

Next. A song with someone screaming their head off. Nope. Next.

Like this it went as 17-year old Kelly Blank continued skipping through the tracks of her brother's CD. She was driving on the freeway in her new white Audi A8 following a big U-Haul truck which her father was driving. Behind her, was her mother driving their 2010 Dodge Charger, which she had no idea why their parents had decided to purchase- seeing it did not suit them at all.

_"You think you know me…" _

The blonde dropped her hand from the stereo buttons as she finally heard the song she had been looking for.

It started off with drums and electric guitars crashing through the speakers but then it slowly died down.

_"On this day, I see clearly, everything that's come to life…"_

Kelly closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. She suddenly felt something in her throat and she felt a sudden urge to cry. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle it but still she wanted to listen to it even if it was a few seconds.

She reached over and quickly turned off the music. It was now silent in her car, with the only sound of the wind outside and her car running. She didn't like this silence but there was nothing else she could stand listening to. The radio just sounded too lively and cheery, it didn't fit her mood.

She knew what her brother would have said if he were here. "What the hell Kels? This silence hurts my ears! Turn the jams up." Then he'd blast one of his songs causing Kelly to flinch every once in awhile but she would never turn it down. He'd start singing the songs and drumming the dashboard with a couple of pencils or anything he could get his hands on. She'd just laugh and sometimes even nod her heard to the beat.

Kelly smiled at the memory but soon felt that same lump in her throat. Her mind then unwillingly went to darker memories; the tire tracks off the road, the overturned car, her brother, lying face down in the mud…

A loud beep woke her from her thoughts and she jumped. She looked through her rearview mirror to see her mother's face frantic and upset. She looked ahead to see the big U-haul truck taking the next exit to the right and she'd almost missed it. Quickly, she put on her blinker and continued following her dad.

In a few minutes, they had slowed down as they came into the town's first stop light. Kelly looked around her, there seemed to be a lot of cars for a town as small as this one. However, it made sense since downtown Seattle was only a short drive a ways.

As they took a right onto one of the main roads of the city Kelly noted the amount of trees and plants there was around. She could almost smell the fresh scent of a pine tree, it was much different than Yakima that was for sure. Yakima being known to have very random weather was also known as the city of boredom, here it seemed to Kelly as they passed many movie theaters, an arcade/bowling center, a library and even a water park was a bit different. It seemed to have a little more life.

As she continued looking around at the sights, her eyes stopped on a big rock sitting on the side of the road. Around it there was blue, white and orange flowers and on it there were the words "City of Clyde Hill" and a small green pine tree was painted underneath.

Kelly's breath caught, it was as if she finally realized what she, well all of them, her family were doing. They were running away. Running away from their problems and from the tragedy that had occurred, as if this would make it any better.

They were only about three hours away from their old home and only three hours away from her older brother Adam's grave.

* * *

Kelly shifted her car into parked and unbuckled her seat belt. She sighed and ran her hands across her face leaning back against her seat. Her ears were popping from the long trip and from the fact that they had finally stopped in front of a big light blue two-story house. It was on a cul-de-sac so her father had parked on the curb while Kelly and her mom parked in the driveway of their new home.

She had been to the house before, once when her dad had come for a meeting with the real estate agent and it looked the same as it did the last time. Big, new and lonely. She had already picked out her bedroom since her dad insisted that getting the first pick was something, oh-so special. She still didn't understand why they needed a four bedroom house if it was only the three of them living in it.

Well, the four of them if you counted Kelly's older sister Torrie who would be staying with them for the next week or so to help them unpack. Torrie was two years older than Kelly and attended the University of Washington which was in a city called Bothell a good thirty minutes away. Torrie was in her second year of college and Kelly knew she was loving every minute of it, not really much the classes and the work but the social scene and the parties.

Ever since they were kids, Torrie had always been outgoing and outspoken, taking leadership roles at school and becoming captain of the cheer squad. Adam was also outspoken but in his own way, he said whatever was on his mind without thinking about it first. If it came out offensively he didn't seem to notice which caused him to get into many problems. He just lived life the way he wanted to and Kelly learned to love that about him.

Kelly, however, wasn't very talkative like her siblings. She was shy with new people and it took her time to actually gain confidence with them. She wasn't wild and adventurous like them and sometimes she felt like her own parents worried about her. Of course, she knew they didn't like the way Torrie would always stay out after curfew partying with her friends during her high school days or when Adam would sneak out to play at a gig with his band.

Since Kelly didn't do any of those things and decided rather to stay home and study she knew they sometimes wondered if something was bothering her. Her mother had tried many times to get to her to go out with no success. Kelly was the type who stayed home and studied or watched movies with her parents.

However, things changed this past year. Since her parents couldn't get through to her and Torrie was away at college the only person left to try was Adam. Sweet, caring and charismatic, Adam. Her older brother and her best friend. It was so easy to give into him and eventually Kelly did.

Adam had been in his senior year and loving the fact that he was almost done with high school. She knew that he didn't have plans to go to college but to move to a bigger city like Los Angeles to play bigger gigs with his band. Kelly always heard him and his band rocking out in their garage much to the dismay of her parents. One day when she had no homework or anything else to do she wandered in there and listened to them play. It was funny because from her room all she heard was loud noise but from close up she actually heard the music. Watching Adam and his band play was entertaining because they were so energetic and funny. When they saw Kelly sitting there, they would let her play some of the instruments even if she sounded horrible (which she did) they would rock out to it as if it was the best thing ever.

Eventually it became a routine to hangout with them and when they had their first gig that year at a Sweet Sixteen of a girl who loved their music they invited her to tag along. She was nervous to go even if she was just going to support them but she went and when her parents saw this, she knew they were happy that she was getting out of the house even if it was with Adam and his crazy band.

At school she did have a few friends but not the kind she could call up to hangout but just those that she talked to in classes. So Adam and his band became her friends. They consisted of Christian, who was Adam's best friend since 5th grade and the lead guitar and back up vocals in the band, on the drums was Mr. Mohawk, Shannon Moore who'd they met in middle school but soon later replaced by Drew McIntyre since Shannon had gotten involved with a bad crowd, and then there was Seth Rollins who rocked out on the keyboard but could also play a little bit of guitar and drums. Adam played bass and was the lead singer as well.

She would sit with them at lunch, go watch movies with them and even play basketball with them. When Adam realized she was very good at playing ball she urged her to try out for the school team. That was something that she probably would of never done if it wasn't for his persistence.

Eventually she tried out when the time came and easily made it into the Girl's Varsity team as a sophomore. She could tell the other girls looked confused and she didn't blame them. Most of them hardly knew who she was since she was so quiet and seeing her play ball was probably more surprising. However, they eventually became used to it and she made a few friends. She thought it would be nice to have girlfriends and it was but she was so used to hanging out with Adam and the guys that she sometimes felt uncomfortable when the girls talked about the "cute" guys in school and dating.

She thought joining the team would probably distance her and her brother again but it was the complete opposite. Adam and his friends went to every game she had. She thought they looked funny in the crowd, a bunch of guys with long hair and black clothes next to all the spirited preps wearing the bright red, white and blue school colors. However, they weren't ones to care what others thought and they shouted and supported her throughout the whole game.

Eventually, Kelly's basketball career was cut short after Adam's accident. She couldn't bear to play anymore so she dropped out of the team right before they headed off to state. She didn't have her head in the game and wasn't going to be the one who let the team down. The team ended up placing 4th in state, a great accomplishment but according to her coach, he thought they would have done better with her in there but he understood what she was going through. He then gave her "the face."

You know the pity and sympathetic face people give you when someone you love passes away. She hated that face and the usual follow-up of the words "I'm sorry." She never knew what to do afterwards, either to cry (which is what Torrie usually did) or just say thank you. She usually did the second and walked away still wondering why no tears came out of her.

_Bing!_ Kelly shook her head realizing she was still sitting in her car and that her phone in her purse next to her was ringing with a text message. She grabbed her purse and searched for her phone. It was a text message from Torrie.

_Hey Kels, are you guys at the house yet?_

Kelly replied back telling her that they just arrived.

_Alright, I will be there in an hour or so. Just going to stop at Carlito's dorm really quick._

Kelly texted her back and got out of the car.

"Kelly dear, you almost missed the exit back there," her mother announced from the back of the U-Haul truck which her dad was opening up.

She had forgotten about that. "Sorry, about that mom. I got a bit distracted looking around. Won't happen again."

"Please. Accidents happen, hunny," she said seriously and Kelly knew she was thinking about Adam. Kelly felt ashamed then to have not been paying attention. She decided to change the subject.

"Torrie just texted me Mom, she said she will be here in about an hour or so. She's going to visit Carlito first," Kelly wasn't sure it was the best idea to add the last part in as she noticed the looks of annoyance that crossed her parents' faces. They weren't fond of Torrie's year long boyfriend Carlito. Torrie met him 3 weeks into her freshman year of college and was completely head over heels for his carefree attitude and his big afro hairdo. He was born in Puerto Rico but moved to Washington with his grandmother saying he wanted to experience college. He heard WSU had a great arts program so he joined. The Blank parents didn't think an Arts Major was a great pick for a long term boyfriend.

"Oh boy," Kelly's dad Shane said, "hopefully she doesn't bring him along…"

Heather smacked her husband's shoulder. "Don't be like that Shane. We might not like him but Torrie does…so we must respect the boy."

"I just don't understand the hair though…" Shane muttered as he carried a box towards the front door of their new home.

Kelly giggled and she saw her mom smile. They followed Shane inside the unlocked house and as Shane set the box down he put his hands on his hips and sighed. "Home, sweet home. I'm starving! Let's go eat!"

Heather looked at her husband confused. "Hun, you unloaded one box from the truck and you're ready to take a lunch break?"

Shane looked sheepish. "Well we didn't have breakfast and that burrito we grabbed on the way did not satisfy my hunger. A man's gotta eat right!"

Heather rolled her eyes but admitted, "I am a bit hungry as well. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have lunch now and just unpack later."

Shane raised his hands in triumph. "That's what I'm talking about. Plus, it gives us a chance to check out Clyde Hill's dining."

"Yeah, that's true. I actually looked some up yesterday for in case we had to go out…" Heather started as they all walked back outside and into Kelly's parents' car. Her mom started naming off names of restaurants and the kind of food they served from a list on her phone. As Kelly expected the two started arguing over which ones were better. She knew they would ask for her opinion once they couldn't decide.

As they backed out onto the road Kelly couldn't help but like the feeling of starting over. Usually it was people who had a bad reputation or lots of unfinished business who wanted a fresh start but for her it was a new start to figure out who she was on her own. She had depended on Adam so much to bring her personality out but now he was gone and she had to learn to depend on herself. Plus, she was happy to finally escape "the face" that she hated so much. No one in Clyde Hill knew her here besides her family, no one knew how much she was suffering from the loss of her best friend and brother, Adam and she hoped to keep it that way too.

"Kelly what do you think….?" her mother asked.

* * *

_**If you like it then go check out Chapter 2, my amigos! :)**_


	2. Interesting Strangers

**A/N: **_**Hey there! I know you guys might hate me for making you wait so long for Chapter 2. I was so distracted ever since I watched the Mortal Instruments movie. I fell in love with it and bought all the books so I've been a bookworm for the past weeks trying to reach the end of every book! I decided to take a break and update this story. I PROMISE to update this regularly, since a lot of people are so into it. Don't forget to check out the trailer on my Youtube channel: **_**TheMuseofEvol.**

* * *

**Interesting Strangers**

"Hun, you have to admit the food was amazing and the service on point!" Kelly's mother, Heather announced praising the restaurant they had chosen. In the end the three had agreed on an American-Italian place called Mizanin's to have lunch, not so much Shane since he'd always pick Mexican food over anything.

They were on their way out of the door and as Kelly glanced back to their table she saw the tall blonde hostess saying something to their waiter who was a good looking guy around Kelly's age with spiky brown hair. She looked annoyed and he looked to be apologizing but with a flip of her long blonde ponytail she walked off leaving him to help the busboy pick up the table.

All of a sudden he turned and saw Kelly watching him. Kelly immediately felt herself flush for being caught staring and turned her attention to following her parents out of the door. She wasn't able to see the smirk that spread out on his face afterwards.

From the moment the waiter had arrived to take their drink order Kelly had felt uncomfortable by the way he looked at her. When she couldn't figure out what to order he was too generous in explaining every dish to her even though she hadn't asked. He was a nice guy and a very good waiter especially since his parents were the owners, but it seemed to Kelly that if her parents hadn't been there he probably would have been asking for her number. Even though it did seem like he was taken by the pretty blonde hostess, he didn't seem to care about flirting with other girls.

"Yeah, I admit it was great food and excellent service. Although that waiter was being a bit too nice to you Kelly," Shane said and wiggled his eyebrows. Kelly smiled at his silliness but was also surprised that he noticed.

"Really?" Heather said looking confused. "I thought he was just being friendly like a waiter should. Hmmm…he wouldn't be a bad catch though. Hard worker, it looks like he works out…"

"Um, Mom. I don't think I want to be setup with anyone. Thank you," Kelly said but smiled. She felt awkward to think of herself dating or talking to guys. Yes, she had a lot of guy friends before but for some reason she hadn't thought of anyone as attractive or interesting enough to date. Not since Drew McIntyre.

When Shannon Moore, the original drum player of her brother's band started hanging out with the potheads at school he started missing a lot of band practices. He was always distracted and the other guys started becoming annoyed since they weren't into doing drugs of any sort. Eventually Adam talked to Shannon and told him they had found someone else to play drums. Shannon was disappointed but didn't hold a grudge towards the guys. He even hung out with them at times and gave tips to the new member of the band.

Drew McIntyre was a mysterious guy, that was probably why Kelly had been so drawn to him. Adam and the guys had met him at one of the gigs they had played at, he had told them he played drums if they ever were looking for someone. They had told him they already had a full band but they would keep it in mind. In the end they ended up calling him up after Shannon's new behavior and he even transferred schools in order to spend more time with the guys.

At first it was strange to Kelly to have someone new in her circle of friends especially since Drew was so much to himself at times. He did goof around or crack a joke at times but it was so rare that when it happened Kelly found herself staring at him in wonder. Usually, while the others guys had a deep and random conversation about the best rock bands he would be reading a book or writing lyrics to new songs. Kelly would watch how concentrated he was and how he would carelessly push his shoulder length brown hair aside whenever it got in his face.

He was so different from the other guys that sometimes she wondered how they played so well together. But then again, she knew Adam and his friends accepted anyone the way they were. She loved all of them, Christian, Seth and her crazy brother but she felt a different connection to Drew because he was so like her. He like her also held back at showing everything about himself.

She would get nervous to talk to him whenever they had moments to themselves since she had no idea what to talk about. They could sit in silence for long moments and over time it felt normal. Eventually she found herself spending a lot of time with him and there was a time when she felt like they could have been something more than friends. However, they never had a chance for that to happen.

"Alright, time to get to work. I really hope we can get a bit settled before Wednesday. I won't be able to concentrate on work knowing I still have so much stuff left to unpack," Heather said as they pulled up their new driveway. Kelly's mother and father both worked for Paradise Homes, Inc. Her mother was a real estate agent while her father was the leader of the construction team. Shane was always announcing his self made motto to the world of "I build houses and my wife sells them." Everyone thought it was funny, everyone except her mother who always rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Don't worry hun, we'll get a lot done. Plus, Torrie is coming and that's some extra help as well unless she gets distracted by thinking of Carlito's amazing hair," he said. The three got out of the car, Kelly took the keys for the house from her dad and opened the front door while he and her mom got to work on carrying things from the U-Haul inside.

She threw the keys on the kitchen counter and grabbed a hair band from her pocket to pull her hair up. No one ever liked the work that came with unpacking but at least it was a distraction so they wouldn't think of bad memories.

* * *

The Blanks had been hard at work for about three hours and Kelly felt like her arms were going to fall off from carrying so many things. The boxes weren't so bad but since her father refused to hire movers they had the mission of carrying their couches and beds inside as well. They were sliding the box spring from her parent's bed out of the U-Haul truck slowly, Kelly and her mother were at the bottom while her dad was on the truck holding it from the top.

Suddenly, something happened and it slid down too fast landing on her mother's foot. "Ow!" she cried moving her foot, "Hunny, be careful that caught my foot."

Shane looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I guess it would have been a good idea to hire those movers. I didn't think it was going to be so much work getting these out of the truck and in the house."

"Well it was a lot of work getting them out of the old house and in here," Heather said motioning to the truck. "It's alright we'll figure this out…" As they set the box spring on the sidewalk so Kelly and her mother could turn it, she saw her mother's gaze land somewhere behind her.

Kelly turned and saw a woman walking towards them with a plate in her hand. She was a short, plump woman, with light brownish short curly hair and glasses on the tip of her nose. She was smiling broadly as she approached. Her mother motioned for Kelly to set the box spring down. When she did, Kelly wiped at her sweaty forehead and was glad for a small break.

"Well hello there, new neighbors!" the woman announced excitedly. "Am I glad to finally have some new faces around here!"

She could see her mother was thrown off by her energy and friendliness. "Well, we are glad to be here as well. I'm Heather Blank, this is my daughter Kelly and my husband Shane is inside the truck."

The woman shook her mother's hand and then Kelly's. "I am Carol Cena and I live with my husband John. It is so wonderful to meet you. I was just telling my husband the other day that I thought I saw someone checking this house out. We live in the house right next door on your right, here on your left live Shawn and Rebecca Michaels with their two little boys but they are rarely home since Shawn is a pro wrestler and travels a lot. The other neighbors are very friendly as well, but if you need help with names I'm here for you."

Kelly realized the woman was a talker but very friendly indeed. She was happy to be living in a friendly neighborhood. In Yakima, it wasn't so bad but there were some grumpy, retired people who would get upset if you even looked at their perfectly mowed lawn. Carol Cena did not look like a grumpy person at all.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Cena. We are glad to know we have someone to help us out," Heather said as Shane jumped out of the truck and went to shake the woman's hand as well.

The woman then remembering the plate she was holding handed it to Heather. "Please, call me Carol. Oh dear, I almost forgot! I baked some cookies for you all, nothing big. I usually make a casserole but I was so anxious to meet you!"

"Oh goodness! Don't worry yourself, these smell delicious," Shane exclaimed taking the plate from his wife, unwrapping it and taking a bite from one. "And they are delicious…"

Heather shot her husband a look and turned to their new neighbor. "Excuse my husband Carol. He is a food fanatic of every kind."

"Well I'm glad he's enjoying them," she said and laughed heartily. "Oh by the way, I also came over because I saw you were struggling with some of the heavier items." Her attention turned to the box spring laying on the lawn.

"Yes, well my dear husband didn't think it would be necessary to hire movers and now he realizes he was wrong," Heather said while Shane still chewing the cooking just shrugged.

"Oh it happens. My husband is the same way, he has to do everything himself or it's not done right in his opinion. Anyway, I was going to tell you, one of my sons is arriving today from Bothell, it's not too far. He attends college there and is going to spend the summer with us. He has a football scholarship and is in good shape. Good enough shape to help you with some of those beds," Carol offered.

"Oh that is a very nice offer, Mrs…I mean Carol but we don't want to bother him. He will probably be tired from his drive here. We'll be able to somehow get everything inside," Heather told her nicely.

"Oh nonsense! John won't mind, he loves to help out and he'll be happy to see we have new neighbors. I'll send him over when he gets here which will probably be in less than an hour," she said turning to go so Heather wouldn't have a chance to refuse again, "I hope you enjoy the cookies and I'll see you soon. I have to go tidy up John's room before he gets here."

"John, I thought that was your husband's name?" Shane said a bit confused.

Carol turned back. "Yes well my husband would not leave me alone about having a John Jr. ever since our first born. I was able to put it off for my first two sons but he beat me to name our last." She rolled her eyes reminding Kelly so much of her own mother. She knew the two women were going to get along great.

Heather and Shane laughed as Carol waved them a good-bye heading towards her home which looked very cozy and warm with its light brown color and beautiful flowers underneath the windows.

Heather sighed and put her hands on her hips as she watched their neighbor walk away. "Well that was nice of her to offer her son's help. We honestly could use it. I just hope he doesn't mind."

"Well, she said he wouldn't. Plus it gives us a chance to take a small break from lifting heavy stuff. I'm sweating out of this shirt," Kelly's dad announced while he grabbed another cookie from the plate.

"Yeah, I think I'll go inside and look over a few work papers and organize the office room while we wait for John to come by," she said and then looking at the cookie plate, "Shane, you're going to finish them all! Slow down."

"Oh, sorry," he said his mouth full and offered the plate to Heather and then to Kelly who took one. She bit into and was bet by how wonderfully soft and warm they were. "I guess I'll just look through some of the boxes inside and see what needs to be thrown into the shed."

"Kelly, hunny maybe you can start fixing your room…?" her mother started. However, Kelly had another idea. She was tired of moving things around.

"Actually I was wondering if I can take a walk around the neighborhood…get to know it a little better? If that's okay?" she said. Her mother nodded.

"That's fine, just be back soon…and be careful," she said giving her the look she always did when was going to go off on her own. That look had started ever since her brother passed away.

"I will be, I promise," she said and started down the sidewalk. She could hear her mother telling her dad to give her the plate of cookies, that he had had enough already. Kelly smiled, her dad drove her mom crazy but eventually he always let her win.

When she reached the corner of the sidewalk she turned back and saw her father hand her mom the plate and then kiss her on the cheek as he walked inside their new home.

* * *

Kelly had been walking through the neighborhood for awhile, loving the fact that the sun was warm but there was a slight breeze allowing it to be perfect weather on this Monday afternoon. She liked looking at all the houses as she passed by, seeing the different kind of creativity her new neighbors had in fixing their yards. Some houses had ponds, small waterfalls, statues, eccentric flowers and so much more. She also liked the fact that the houses were all different shapes and sizes just like her new neighbors who waved at her and smiled if they happened to be outside. She would hate living in those kinds of neighborhoods where the houses were basically designed the same way.

As she looked ahead at the end of the road, she saw it was a dead end. She guessed it was because there was a park there. She could just make out a jungle gym, swings, and a sandbox where a couple of kids where playing supervised by a woman with long black hair. She decided it would be nice to sit at one of the picnic tables under the big shade the trees in the park were giving. That's where she decided to head to.

She passed the sandbox where she could see a boy about eight years old and a little girl about five or six making sandcastles. Their mother (she guessed) was sitting in front of the sand castle poking away at her phone. She looked up and smiled at Kelly as she passed and then noticed that the little boy had thrown sand at the girl. "Omar! Don't be throwing sand. You are getting your sister all dirty." Kelly noticed she had a thick Mexican accent.

Kelly reached the picnic table and took a seat feeling fresh being out of the sun. As she looked around the park she noticed it was a pretty big size with many areas to barbecue. She could hear the sound of running water and guessed there was probably a creek nearby hidden among the trees that surrounded the park.

Then she turned her head and spotted a bit away a basketball court. It had been so long that she'd seen a court; ever she had quit the team in school. She had avoided walking through the gym just so she wouldn't be reminded of her playing days and her brother sitting on the bleachers cheering her on. It just made her feel sad and she didn't want to feel that way. She always tried to avoid thinking of anything that had to do with him because it hurt her to know that she couldn't cry. She didn't understand why that was. It felt like she was doing him an injustice by not crying. It was like if she never cared about him. Everyone in her family had cried, even her dad who was such a goofball. So what was wrong with her?

As she stared at the court she then saw a couple of teenage girls and a guy around her age walking towards it from the opposite side. The boy who wore purple basketball shorts, a white t-shirt and a purple head band with writing Kelly couldn't quite make out over his mow hawk styled hair was spinning a basketball in his hand carelessly as he chatted with the two girls. The girls were completely opposite from each other. One of them had light brown skin that matched the color of her long wavy hair which she had up in a high ponytail. The other girl was light skinned and very blonde with her straight hair in a low side ponytail.

As they reached the court, the darker of the girls immediately started stretching her long legs as the other girl stretched her arms. The boy threw the ball from half the court towards one of the hoops and missed by a wide gap and making a face of disappointment. "Zac you're never going to make that shot if you don't stretch and actually learn how to shoot!" Kelly heard the darker of the girls announce.

"I know how to shoot!" she heard the boys named Zac complain, "that shot is just impossible!"

The girl which Kelly guessed was Latina walked over to him as he retrieved the ball. "I've seen Randy do it many times already and the reason he can is because he actually practices instead of just throwing the ball at the hoop and hoping to get lucky."

"I don't just throw the ball at the hoop…" Zac started. The blonde girl seeing this was going to turn into an argument stopped her stretching and went towards them.

"Guys," she had a smaller, girlier voice than the Latina, "let's not argue, please. Let's just start practicing before Randy gets here and becomes upset."

Kelly thought that Zac and the darker girl were going to keep arguing but they looked at each other, then at the blonde in front of them and slowly nodded. "You're right Tiff," the darker girl said, "let's get to work. I think we owe it to Randy since he's the hardest worker out of all of us and he still manages to come to practice."

As the three started doing some drills with the ball Kelly started thinking again of her basketball playing days. She thought her team was pretty good since her coach was very strict and precise. As she watched these three she was surprised to see how good their technique was at shooting as well the speed at which they moved and passed the ball. Even Zac, who she hadn't taken seriously at first, was great especially at rebounds.

The three were shouting so much she barely realized another scream from behind her. She turned and saw the little girl who had playing in the sand crying and rubbing at her eyes. She saw her mom look up and quickly stuff her phone in her pocket as she headed towards the sand box. She picked up the little girl and looked down angrily at the boy. "Omar! What did I tell you? Look what you did now, you got sand in her eyes. That hurts mijo, don't do that!"

The little boy just stared at his mom looking sad. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Don't say sorry to me. Say sorry to you're sister. I'm going to have a talk with Papi about this," she said. "Come on let's get you guys cleaned up." She took Omar's sandy hand and started towing him along.

"I'm really sorry, Julie," Kelly heard the little boy saying to his sister as they walked away. She had been paying so much attention to the scene that she hadn't noticed two more teenagers walking towards the park. They looked to be headed to the basketball court to join the others.

As they came close and passed with the woman with the children she heard one of them greet her. "Hey Rosa, having a tough time I see?" He was very tall and built with blonde spiky hair and a very big smile. He was wearing long white basketball shorts and a light blue shirt.

"Ugh, these kids are always fighting with each other. I have to get home and wash Julie's eyes out. Omar threw sand at her," she complained to them. As she adjusted the weight of Julie on her hip she moved away and Kelly was able to see the other boy standing with the one who had greeted her.

Kelly couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. He was tall and built but he was less stockier that the first one, more lean. He was darker too with short dark hair and Kelly noticed as she looked at his arms that they were both covered in dark tattoos. She couldn't see them all since his t-shirt cut her off but she guessed he had tattoo sleeves on both arms. He looked like the bad boy that all the good girls wanted to get to know. It was funny to see him standing there looking at Rosa with her kids, smiling tenderly at Julie who was still rubbing her eyes. He liked kids, now all the girls definitely liked him.

He then spoke and his voice was deep and husky. He looked down at the little boy. "Omar, that's not nice to be doing that to your little sister. You're supposed to have fun with her when you play not make her get sad."

Kelly heard the little boy. "I know, Randy. I won't do it again, I promise."

So that was Randy.

Now, she knew why the other three at the basketball took him seriously. He was a bit intimidating, even more than the big blonde one next to him. He had a certain kind of nice authority to him.

"Well I better get going. I need to give these two a nice bath. Have a good practice guys," Rosa told the two boys and started walking away still towing little Omar along.

"Man, she's having a hard time keeping up with them, huh?" the tall blonde commented to Randy. "It's too bad she won't look for a new sitter."

Randy shrugged. "I think it's good she's spending time with her kids, she barely ever did. Her and Alberto are always working. It kind of worked out that my Aunt Stephanie can't babysit anymore so she can take some time off and be with them."

"I guess that's true," the blonde one said and as he looked around, his gaze landed on Kelly who then flushed. She realized what she might look like sitting there listening and staring at everyone in the park. She turned away from his stare and acted as though there was something under the picnic table she was looking at.

After a bit, she decided it was best to head back home and help her parents unpack the rest of the things. She stole a glance at the court and saw the two guys greeting the other three.

Her focus was on Randy who play punched Zac while he was shooting the ball and then pulled his sweatband down on his eyes. "Hey!" Zac exclaimed and tried to hit Randy back.

"Can't catch me little bro," he announced as all the shots Zac took at him missed. Eventually they stopped messing around and the small blonde went over to Randy. He immediately bent down gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek.

Kelly turned away feeling awkward and…dissapointed. She was never one to be jealous especially about a guy she didn't know. She had just been so attracted to him, which was rare and it caught her off guard to see him with the short blonde. Of course he would have a girlfriend. Why hadn't she thought that?

She decided it really was time to go and stop looking like a creeper. She got up and started crossing past the sandbox and toys but she couldn't tune them out. "Was it busy at The Spot today?" she heard the small voice of the blonde.

"It was alright, I just had to help my aunt with some paperwork. Sorry we're late," Kelly heard Randy say as she walked. He then spoke loud to the rest, "Alright guys let's get a good practice in today guys! The 4 on 4 Spokane competition is drawing close and we need to be ready. So let's get to it….Zac!"

Kelly continued walking as she almost got to the edge of the park though she heard them all shouting. She thought they were talking to each other but as it turned out they were yelling out at her. She turned quickly to see the ball flying right to her. They were trying to warn her. Zac must of tried one of his half court shots again and missed sending the ball flying. Her reflexes were quick though as she jumped up and caught it before it went over her head.

She turned to look at them and saw that Randy was running towards her to retrieve the ball. In force of habit she threw it just like she would pass it in a game of basketball. Randy caught off guard almost didn't catch it. He didn't expect her to throw it that way, she thought looking at his surprised expression.

He looked at her for a moment, they weren't very far apart but she could tell he had blue eyes just like hers only his were a bit darker. He then smiled slightly, "Thanks."

She nodded a bit and responded. "You're welcome." With that he turned and headed back to the court and she headed back to her home. She mentally told herself to not come back and be listening to other people's conversations and lives even if it was a good distraction from her own.

* * *

**_Chapter 3 will be up sooner than you know. I will try hard :) Please review and let me know how you like it so far._**


	3. Her Missing Hero

**A/N**_**: Hey guys! You probably hate me for keeping you waiting so long. I have excuses such as I disconnected my internet and switched providers and a lot of other stuff. Either way, Chapter 3 is finally here! I hope you guys like it and don't forget to check out the trailer to this story on Youtube channel:**_** TheMuseofEvol.**

* * *

**Her Missing Hero**

Kelly rounded the corner of the sidewalk and headed towards her house. The first thing she noticed was her sister's silver Impala in the driveway. She was finally here even though she said she would be hours ago. The next thing she noticed was a man, actually it was a young man jumping out of the back of the U-Haul and carrying a big box.

He was a built guy but not too tall. He was wearing a red and gold WSU t-shirt and black sweat shorts and had short brown hair. When he caught sight of Kelly heading his way he smiled and she noticed how perfect his teeth were.

"Hey," Kelly said and smiled back. "I'm Kelly, you must be John. I met your mom."

John shifted the box he was holding with barely any effort to one arm and shook Kelly's hand. "Yeah, my lovely mother loves meeting new people. Nice to meet you Kelly, I'm happy to know you are not going to scream at me for helping you guys unpack."

Kelly was confused. "Scream at you? Why…"

John laughed and Kelly noticed his blue eyes squint a bit when he did. "Well, I was busy unloading some stuff and I believe it was your sister who confronted me a few minutes ago and demanded what I was doing in the truck. I think she thought I was stealing or something. I tried to explain but…"

"She wouldn't let you," Kelly finished knowing exactly how Torrie was. She made a big deal over everything and never heard the full story. "Sorry about that, she's a bit intense at times. Where is she by the way?"

"She stalked off into the house, probably to tell your parents about the robber in the truck," he said and smiled. He seemed easygoing and Torrie's outburst seemed to amuse him rather than annoy him.

"Well let's hope my parents were able to explain to her," Kelly said and the two headed towards the front door. As she opened it sure enough she could hear Torrie's voice as she complained to her parents.

"…it would have been nice for you guys to mention we would have a helper. I basically accused him for stealing. He just scared the crap out of me," she was saying and as she saw Kelly and John she stopped talking. Her cheeks flushed red and she turned away which was a rare thing for Torrie.

Shane who had been working on setting up the television in the living room motioned towards John. "Torrie this is John Cena, he is our next door neighbor. His mother kindly offered us his help in unpacking a few things." Shane made a face towards Torrie as if saying to be nice.

Stubbornly, Torrie stuck out her hand and shook hands with John who had set down the big box he had been carrying. "I'm Torrie. Sorry about before, no one told me you were helping out."

Kelly saw John smirk a bit and shrug. "No big deal, as long as the police weren't called." That made Torrie flush again. Kelly knew John was just pushing her buttons, he seemed to enjoy it. Then Torrie seemed to finally see her sister standing there and threw herself at her.

"Oh Kelly! I missed you so much! It feels like it's been forever since I've seen you," she said and crushed her with a big hug then stepped away. Her sister barely looked like her, the only thing they had in common was their long blonde hair. Torrie was taller and a bit more built because of her cheerleading history. Plus, unlike Kelly's blue eyes, Torrie had Grandpa Blank's emerald green ones.

"It's good to see you Tor. How was school?" Kelly asked just for something to talk about. John who hadn't know what to do started his way back out the front door probably to grab another box from the truck. Kelly saw Torrie give him a brief glance and then turn back to smile at Kelly.

She then rolled her eyes. "Very stressful! Too much homework, little sleep or time to do anything."

Heather who crossed the living room to the kitchen carrying some plates. "It wouldn't be college if there wasn't work, Torrie. By the way, we saw your marks and you barely passed some of your classes. I hope you focus some more next year and do better, sweetie."

Torrie made a face and turned to her mother. "Mom, I really am trying the best I can."

"Well maybe you'd do better if you weren't so distracted in having a boyfriend…" Heather started.

"You're just saying that because you don't like Carlito. I don't know why we always have to talk about this. He doesn't distract me, he motivates me to do better," she said looking upset. It would happen that minutes being back, Torrie and her parents would start arguing.

"I never said I didn't like him!" Heather started becoming upset. Kelly didn't like where this was going. She knew they were going to keep arguing if someone didn't stop them.

Kelly was about to speak up when Shane spoke already having finished with the TV. "Torrie, hunny we don't want to argue with you especially so soon. Let's just get to work, we want to finish before your mother and I head off to work tomorrow morning."

Torrie nodded and gave her mom an apologetic nod. Heather smiled at her daughter and grabbed her into a hug. Kelly thought how well her dad was at settling their problems.

"So, what can I help with?" Torrie asked.

* * *

The next morning when Kelly woke up in her new room, it took her a second to realize where she was. Her room was basically finished being set-up thanks to Torrie's help. She just had her twin bed with zebra covers in the middle, a white dresser in the corner of the room next to a large mirror pinned to the wall, then there was the computer desk on the opposite side next to her closet. She also had put up her old posters of her favorite movies and artists. When she got to putting up her bulletin board yesterday, Torrie wanting to help ran into some of the pictures she was going to put up on the board. They were family pictures and a lot of them with Kelly, Adam and Torrie. Some were from vacations they had taken or camping trips. Kelly knew it was hard for all of them to think of Adam as gone but for Torrie any thought of him brought her to tears.

She had tried brushing them away before Kelly could see but eventually gave up the attempt and headed downstairs to help her parents. After she had left the room Kelly looked at the pictures and again wondered why she had no reaction like Torrie did, she knew she missed Adam so much but why was she this weird emotionless robot?

Looking through the stack she found the picture she liked the best, it was of her and Adam. The band's friend Percy Watson was their camera guy of sorts. Whenever he could, he would go to their gigs or practices and record them performing. Sometimes, he would even take pictures for flyers and such. One day at practice he was goofing off taking random pictures of the guys and he then said Kelly and Adam should take a picture together. Kelly being camera shy, was trying to run away but Adam caught her swinging his arm around her shoulder, and Percy shot it. There she was laughing, head turned slighty to the side as Adam made a scrunched up silly face. It was a perfect moment.

She decided she would put all of Adam's pictures away and only put others on her board for Torrie's sake. She didn't want her crying every time she walked into her room. So there they were in a white shoe box under her bed calling to her every time she passed.

As Kelly started changing into her clothes, she could smell coffee from downstairs and hear talking. It was probably her mom and Torrie arguing again, she thought. Her father had already left she was sure since he started almost at the crack of dawn. He had to be at the construction site before the workers to get things ready.

Kelly headed to the bathroom and washed her face and teeth. She ran a brush through her hair and pinned it up on the side. When she entered the kitchen she saw Heather in a black knee-length skirt and a professional black jacket, her hair up in a tight bun. She was sitting on the kitchen island on one of the high chairs opposite Torrie who was already dressed in jean shorts and a flowery shirt, her hair down and wavy.

"…yeah I think it's a good idea. Instead of sitting around here all day, you can show her a bit of Clyde Hill, hopefully even make some friends by the time she goes back to school," Kelly's mother was saying quietly. I guess they weren't arguing after all, they were talking about her.

"Yeah, I've been through here a lot since Carlito's cousin Primo lives in Clyde Hill. I don't know Mom, Kelly is not the type to just make friends right of the bat. I mean it was awhile until she gained trust with…the guys," Torrie avoided saying her brother's name and the band.

"Well, it won't hurt to try. I just want her to go back to school with a bit more confidence, you know…Oh Kelly! You're up!," they turned to look at her a bit guiltily. They were probably wondering how long she'd been standing there.

"Um, yeah," she said acting as though she hadn't heard a thing she added,"so what is going on? Why are you up so early Torrie?"

Torrie looked at her mom and hesitated a bit, "I thought it'd be good for us to get out of the house since mom and dad are going to be gone all day at work. I can take you shopping, Clyde Hill might be small but the mall has good stores. We can even have lunch somewhere."

Kelly watched as her mom just kept her eyes on her coffee cup. Kelly knew they meant well and understood why they must be worried about her. She had broken out of her shell before with the help of her brother and now that he was gone, they were scared she was going to back and hide like before. Honestly, Kelly felt herself being dragged towards that way of being again and it was even scaring her.

Kelly decided it would be best not to worry them and go along. She didn't even know what she would have done all day if Torrie wasn't there. She guessed probably read or walk around the neighborhood again. However, she promised herself not to go to the park too often so she wouldn't look like a creep like last time.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," Kelly said and she saw her mother's shoulders relax. She wished she didn't worry her mother so much. "I was hoping to buy a few more pair of shorts actually."

Torrie smiled radiantly and grabbed Kelly into a hug. "Ah! I'm so excited to have some sister time. We should get going, I know it's early but it's summer so the mall gets packed later in the afternoon."

Torrie hurried off to the room she was staying in to grab her keys and purse and Kelly did the same. Her black satchel was hanging on a hook inside her closet. She might sound like a kid but she was still lucky to receive allowances from her parents so instead of spending them, she tried to save them for when she actually needed the money. Since her parents didn't think it necessary for her to try getting a job until she turned eighteen.

She threw her satchel on and took a quick peek in her mirror to check her hair. She had to look at least decent to go into town. She practiced smiling and looking happy. It all looked forced and that frustrated her. Everyone always wanted to help her "get better" and she wanted to show them that she was okay. Even if it was a lie, she didn't want them to worry anymore.

* * *

Kelly had to admit that she was having a good time. The Clyde Hill mall was pretty big, there were many clothing stores to chose from for a young woman like her. She wasn't a big clothes fanatic, she usually stuck with the usual jeans or shorts with a nice blouse outfit. However, when she stepped inside Forever 21, she ended up buying the shorts she needed as well three new tops. Torrie who worked a few hours at the WSU cafeteria cleaning and such to earn a bit extra money for school and other necessities was suffering looking at clothes and not being able to buy them. Eventually she ended up with a nice pink blouse and some capris saying she had to reward herself from working hard at school.

After a couple hours of looking around and not buying anything else, the sisters decided they were hungry. They headed towards the food court to figure out what they would eat. There were selections from Dairy Queen to Panda Express, but Kelly wasn't sure she wanted fast food. Torrie said anywhere was fine for her so as Kelly looked around trying to pick her eyes landed on a sign through one of the big windows of the mall.

The sign of a restaurant outside the mall called The Spot. It was a tall brown bulding with a porch on the second level. It had beautiful flowers planted at the entrance and big long windows. She wondered what kind of food they served. The Spot, she thought. Why did that sound so familiar?

Torrie who had been busy texting, probably Carlito looked up at Kelly and saw her staring at the restaurant. "You want to go there?" she asked making a face.

Kelly turned to her suddenly curious. "You've been there. How is it?"

Torrie shrugged, "Once before, the food is actually very good. It's just the service that's not so great. Last time I came with Carlito and Primo they even had a Help Wanted sign because they are so short staffed or have bad workers. I don't know but if you really want to go, we can."

Kelly looked back at the mall's food court and felt no desire to eat anything from there. She didn't know why she felt a pull to go to The Spot but she thought that it wouldn't hurt to try it once at least.

"Yeah, let's go."

As soon as Torrie and Kelly stepped in through the big wooden doors of The Spot and the short blonde hostess with a big smile came around the corner to greet them she knew right away where she'd heard the restaurant's name.

_"Was it busy at the spot today?" she heard the small voice of the blonde._

_ "It was alright. I just had to help my aunt with some paperwork. Sorry we're late," Kelly heard Randy say…_

It was at the park while she watched the teenagers play basketball, the same blonde who was their hostess had asked Randy. Randy, the gorgeous intimidating guy who was probably her boyfriend and she should stop thinking about him.

"How are you guys doing today?" the blonde asked them as she took two menus from the side of the front desk.

"Good, thank you," Torrie answered for them. She had looked up from her phone which she'd been texting away. Kelly wondered what was going on between her and Carlito because she didn't look very happy. The hostess led them through the restaurant which was busy with their lunch rush and seated them at a booth at one of the corners.

"Your waitress will be Maxine and she will be right with you," the blonde said smiling radiantly but quickly dashing away. Kelly could see a line forming at the front of the restaurant as she took her seat and saw the blonde starting to look a bit nervous. She even dropped one of the menus as she led a table of four to their seats.

"Man, it's packed in here. Hopefully we get served fast. I'm hungry," Torrie said and frowned as she pushed away her phone.

Kelly couldn't help it and the question tumbled out. "Are you and Carlito okay, Tor?"

Torrie was caught off guard and a look of surprise and then sadness crossed her face. She quickly composed herself though and Kelly wished she wouldn't have asked. She was about to tell her she was sorry that she shouldn't have asked when their waitress arrived.

She was a slender girl with straight long dark red hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She wore very bright red lipstick and an annoyed look on her face as she pulled her notepad out of her apron which was tied at her waist.

"Hi, my name is Maxine and I will be your server today. Could I get you something to drink to start off?" she said as monotone as ever. Kelly had the feeling that this was probably one of the workers that gave The Spot its bad reputation. She glanced at Torrie who just raised her eyebrows and looked down at the menu.

"Um, I'll just take an iced tea," Torrie said. Kelly nodded and told her to make it two. Maxine shoved the notepad back into her apron and shrugged away lazily. She didn't have any urgency considering the place was getting packed and the rest of the workers were running around.

Kelly glanced back at the front of the restaurant and saw there were still plenty of people waiting up front. Some seemed to be getting frustrated and Kelly started to feel bad for the blonde hostess who tried her best to settle the waiting customers.

"Man, she was something wasn't she?" Torrie said and Kelly nodded as she turned back to look at her. Then she continued, "Carlito and I are fine. He has just been stressed with the fact that his parents want him to move back to Puerto Rico. They think he's just wasting his time here and they think he's doing drugs for some reason…"

"Drugs?!" Kelly was shocked, "he doesn't…?"

Torrie looked offended. "Of course not Kels! Carlito would never do anything to ruin his life like that. I would have noticed if he had that sort of problem. His parents just want him back and it's driving him nuts. We keep arguing because I tell him he should go visit them this summer and he thinks I want him to leave!"

Kelly was surprised. "Do you want him to leave?"

Torrie's face showed it all. She looked troubled. "I think I do Kelly. I know it sounds bad, because he's my boyfriend and I should want him around all the time but that's the thing…I don't want him around every single second of my life! I do care about him a lot but lately he's been so over protective and jealous, it's freaking me out. I feel like he thinks I just want him to go so I can find someone else."

Kelly didn't know what to say. She hadn't thought of Carlito to be the jealous type but it probably accumulated over the time he and Torrie had dated because she was a very beautiful girl and she didn't doubt she had many guys admiring her. Carlito probably was just starting to get a bit self conscious that Torrie might leave him.

"I think Carlito is just worried that you're trying to find someone better than him…" Kelly started as she noticed Maxine pass by for the second time without their drinks.

"But I'm not! I don't want someone else…" Torrie exclaimed.

Kelly cut in gently. "Maybe he doesn't know that. He probably knows you obviously care about him but have you probably been hanging around other guy friends who he could be jealous of?"

Torrie twisted a strand of her hair as she thought. "I don't think so, I just hang out with him and his friend Shelton. Obviously also with Christy since she's my roommate…sometimes with Billy Kidman, my co-worker from the cafeteria but he couldn't be jealous of him…" Her eyes widened.

"That's probably it. You and Billy spend a lot of time together so he's probably staring to worry and that's why he's being overprotective. You need to talk to him and make sure he knows he's the only one you care about," Kelly explained. How strange it was that Kelly refused the help of everyone when she herself was always trying to help others.

"Oh. My. Gosh," Torrie said and dropped her face in her hands," I've been so rude to him lately but it's been me who's been causing the problems. I feel so bad!"

Kelly smiled. "I think he'd start to loosen up and start acting normal if you explain everything. I'm sure of it."

Torrie was staring at her phone like if she just wanted to grab it and call Carlito right away. However, at that moment Maxine returned suddenly with the drinks and set them down a bit too hard on the table. With her same bored and annoyed expression she took out her notepad, "Ready to order?"

The girls who hadn't even looked at the menu since having talked the whole time quickly skimmed it knowing if they didn't order now their food would take longer. "I'll just take the Turkey Panini with the fries," Kelly said and pushed her menu to the side.

"I'll take the Blackened Salmon but instead of the fried red potatoes, would you be able to add more of the steamed veggies?" Torrie said. She'd always been very good at watching what she ate. It seemed to bother Maxine a bit at the adjustment to her order. She just shrugged and wrote it down. Grabbing their menus, she then turned and left without another word.

Kelly saw as she headed to the back of the restaurant and saw as she punched in their order in one of the computers. Suddenly a very familiar brown haired girl with beautiful brown eyes appeared next to her, waiting for her to finish putting in the order. Kelly could hear a bit of their conversation.

"Max, could you take table number 63 please? I am just overflowed right now in my area and I'm helping Naomi with her section too. Please? You only have three, two people tables," the dark haired girl said.

Maxine finishing putting in her order turned to look at the girl. "I thought we were only supposed to work in our area, Eve. It's not my fault Tiffany is giving you more tables," she said and rolled her eyes as she walked away.

Kelly could see the look of fury on Eve's face as she punched in the order and quickly went to another table that Kelly guessed was number 63. She looked so different working as a waitress than seeing her play basketball at the park. Then again it was quite the same since she was the fastest at moving from table to table and had skill in talking and making her customers laugh.

It was a funny coincidence that some of the park ballplayers were working here together in a restaurant. She looked around and saw a dark girl with shoulder length hair also moving through the tables quickly. She guessed that was Naomi who'd Eve said she was helping. She hadn't been at the park though. Three waitresses for a whole restaurant seemed like too much work them to Kelly, especially during lunch time. Her eye then caught another figure in all black moving around carrying a dish tray and she recognized him too.

It was Zack. The spiky haired guy who had been trying to make half court shots during their practice. He was their busboy…so if he was here, maybe the rest of the group was here…?

She hadn't realized that she had been staring off into space until suddenly Maxine came with their orders setting them down noisily and walking away without asking if they needed anything else. Torrie who had been lost in texting as well looked up surprised.

"Huh, that was fast!" she said and shrugged.

The girls ate their lunch and Kelly realized Torrie had been right. The food was amazing, maybe even better than the Chicken Alfredo she'd had at Mizanin's. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been. She finished the whole Panini and most of the fries. Maxine came by to leave their check and hurried away without picking up their plates or a thank you.

Guessing they had to pay up front, the girls grabbed their check and headed to the front desk. All the people who had been waiting were finally gone since the lunch rush was coming to its end but there seemed to be a problem with some of the customers who were paying in front of Kelly and Torrie. She was a plump woman about Kelly's height with dark brown hair and wearing a yellow sundress standing next to a tall man (Kelly guessed it was her husband) wearing khaki shorts and a polo.

"I will not pay for a drink that took twenty minutes to arrive! I don't care if I drank it, I believe you guys should have discounted off my tab!" the woman was basically shouting at the short blonde who was trying to cash her out.

"Ma'am, I really am sorry that it was late. We get really busy during lunch time and our bartender got a bit backed up…" Tiffany started looking hesitant.

The woman cut her off throwing up her hands. "Is it MY fault you don't have enough employees? Take it off my tab or I will cause a scene."

Torrie who had stopped texting since her phone was out of her hands muttered under breath to Kelly. "Like if she isn't already."

The blonde looked nervous and looked like she had no idea what to do and Kelly felt so bad for her. Honestly, she probably didn't get the best service today but she wasn't one to care. She had watched Eve, Naomi, Zack and even Tiffany working their butts off and that was all that mattered. They tried hard to give the customers the best service even though they had some bad co-workers like Maxine and were short staffed. She enjoyed the food and was satisfied. Too bad, not many people thought like her as she continued to look at the scene.

The woman looked as she were about to scream again and something happened. Tiffany seemed to be taking a deep breath but as she fell back against the glass wall separating the restaurant and the front desk, Kelly knew something was wrong. The girl suddenly was sucking in air fast as if she couldn't get enough of it and she was holding her chest, her eyes wide with worry.

Kelly reacting stepped forward and saw Torrie do the same as if trying to help her. The angry woman and her husband looked shocked as they took a step back.

Kelly then saw Tiffany reach under the front desk and push something. She heard a beeping noise sounding in the distance. It sounded like it was coming from the back of the restaurant, in the kitchen somewhere.

Suddenly a woman with long brown wavy hair wearing a black suit jacket and slacks appeared at the end of the hallway near the restrooms. She was hurrying towards the front desk and Kelly noticed someone else was following behind her. As she neared Kelly noticed that the woman was pregnant. As the other figure also neared Kelly couldn't help but be caught off guard. Even though by now she should have guessed he's be here.

Randy, another of the teenagers from the park was standing next to the woman. He was in a white long sleeve chef's shirt with a black short cook's hat covering his hair. On the shirt, his name was sewn across it over his heart. He looked strange since you couldn't see his tattoos at all but he still had the same authority as before. His blue eyes took in the scene as he hurried over to Tiffany.

The woman walked over to her too and whispered something to Randy. Then she said gently, "Take her to my office. She can calm down in there."

Randy obliged as he swung one of Tiffany's arms around his shoulder and helped her walk down the hall. She was still wheezing and sounding like a fish out of water. Kelly watched the gentleness Randy used as he carefully held her next to him. She turned away from them, trying to ignore the emotion of jealousy she suddenly felt. Why?

"I'm Stephanie Orton, I am the Manager here. What is the problem?" the woman who had came with Randy was speaking to the angry customers. She said everything so regally but firm that she could tell the other plump woman was taken aback.

"I, I was just telling the young lady that I received my drink twenty minutes after I ordered it and I don't find it fair to have to pay for it. I don't understand…what happened to her?" the woman said with a strange look on her face. She must have felt like she had been the one to cause whatever it was that happened to Tiffany.

Stephanie looked as though she didn't want to talk about Tiffany's incident. She bluntly said, "She has anxiety attacks," she then looked at the computer in front of her, "a Malibu Rum Colada is six fifty. Here."

She stuck her hand out stiffly to the woman who looked surprised. She took the money and stood there.

"Was there something else?" Kelly could tell by Stephanie's tone that she was upset but she was still being friendly.

"No, no. Um, thank you," the woman spattered and she tugged her husband's sleeve to pull him towards the door.

As it swung shut Kelly and Torrie stepped forward to pay. Stephanie started talking at once, "I am so sorry you had to hear all that. I hope everything was good for you two?"

Kelly saw that Torrie was about to answer and she cut in. Maxine was not a good waitress but Kelly thought after the scene Stephanie would have not want to hear that. "It was all great. The food was so great. Thank you."

Stephanie smiled and her cheeks flushed as she rubbed her stomach once and cashed them out. "Well I hope to see you guys back here again. Thank you for your business."

Torrie smiled at her and was heading out the door when Kelly stopped. "I'm going to head to the bathroom really quick. I'll meet you by the car?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Torrie said and nodded as she headed outside.

"At the very end of the hall," Stephanie announced to her suddenly. Kelly smiled her thanks and headed that way. As she neared the door she could hear the sounds of the grill cooking, bells ringing for orders that were ready and of two guys talking to each other loudly.

As Kelly was about to push the door to woman's bathroom open she took a brief glance inside the kitchen which had no door from the side she was standing on. She caught sight of Randy first who was working the grill then of another good looking guy who looked to be around Torrie's age or a bit older who was running back and forth from the prep table to the deep fryer. She was also able to see movement at the back of the kitchen but she wasn't able to see the person until Randy called out.

"Jack! Do you have that saucepan ready?" Randy called out loudly.

Sure enough there was the blonde burly guy Kelly had seen Randy walk to the park with carrying a rather large saucepan and hand it to Randy. He hurried back to his dishwashing station.

"Hey, Johnny, you got the rest of this order? I just want to go check on Tiff really fast," Kelly suddenly heard Randy say to the other cook who nodded. Randy was turning to head her way and she didn't want to be caught in the act of eavesdropping so she pushed her way into the bathroom almost running into someone standing by one of the sinks.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the figure said and as she stepped back Kelly saw that it was Tiffany. She looked better now, she wasn't panting for breath that is. However, her eyes seemed to be rimmed red from crying.

Without thinking Kelly said, "Are you okay?"

Tiffany brushed her bangs out of her face and looked at Kelly curiously. She was probably trying to remember Kelly from the scene up front. When she finally did she smiled, "Oh you were up there weren't you? Yeah, I'm fine. It happens at times that I get these panic attacks especially dealing with tough customers."

Kelly wasn't sure she had the right to know all this but for some reason she was just so curious about these people. Not just Tiffany but all her friends from the park. She thought they had just been a group of friends hanging out and playing ball but they seemed now to be more than that. They even worked together at the same place. They were like family instead.

"Oh I see. I'm sorry for asking. I just got a bit scared for a minute. My sister and I had no idea how to help you," Kelly explained remembering her helpless feeling from before.

Tiffany smiled weakly and shrugged. "It's okay. Most people have no idea what to do, heck! I don't even know what to do. I try my best to calm down but it's hard. It just hits me out of nowhere, I'm just lucky to have good people in my life to help me out."

"I saw how the manager and the cook rushed out to help you. How did they know?" Kelly said still wondering how they had rushed out right at the moment Tiffany was having her attack.

Tiffany's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! It was all Randy's idea actually, he's one of the cooks, he gave me a buzzer to keep up front under the front desk for whenever I start feeling bad they'll basically come out and help me since when I press it a beeping noise is heard in the kitchen."

Kelly then remembered how Tiffany who had been panting for breath had reached under the front desk and suddenly understood. "That's a good idea."

Tiffany nodded happily. It seemed she was coming back to her regular self. Kelly remembering she had to use the bathroom headed towards one of the stalls as Tiffany continued standing in front of the mirror dabbing at her eyes. Kelly suddenly saw herself earlier today at home in front of her mirror before heading out with Torrie. She had being doing the same thing Tiffany was doing now, trying to look presentable as if nothing was wrong even though it really was.

Kelly used the bathroom and washed her hands, as she passed Tiffany the girl smiled at her through the mirror and Kelly smiled back.

Just as she was about to step out the bathroom, she turned back to Tiffany. "So why do you work here if it's so hard for you?"

At first Kelly thought she wasn't going to answer but the blonde turned and smiled radiantly all of a sudden. "Everyone asks me that. They think I'm crazy to work at a place where it's so busy and hectic and my panic attacks could strike at any time but the thing is…I love it here! I love the craziness, the customers, well some of them and most of all…the people I work with. Here at The Spot it's like a second home where everyone knows me and accepts me for who I am. Having these attacks is not weird or strange to them at all."

Kelly hearing all this wondered how crazy to be so attached to a place but she only smiled. "That's really nice. Well I'm stop bothering you now. Hope you feel better."

"Thank you," Tiffany said and turned back to the mirror.

Kelly stepped out the bathroom and almost crashed into someone again. She really should be more careful when stepping through doors. "Oh, sorry," she muttered embarrassed.

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't have been standing so close to the door," it was Randy who spoke. She looked up surprised. Of course, he had left the kitchen to check on Tiffany and he was probably waiting for her to come out of the bathroom.

"It's okay," Kelly said and tried to hurry off. She knew she had kept Torrie waiting for too long now which she didn't think it was such a bad idea since she was probably texting or calling Carlito trying to explain things.

"Wait, you look so familiar. Have we met before?" Randy called out to her. Oh no! Kelly thought he remembers me from the park.

Kelly shook her head not knowing what to say. Why did she have to act so strange around this guy she hardly knew. Maybe because he was intimidatingly gorgeous?

"Hmm, how weird. I honestly feel like I've seen you before. Either way, I'm Randy. Randy Orton," he said and held his out to Kelly. Kelly looked at it and not wanting to be rude stepped forward and took it.

"Kelly Blank. Nice to meet you," she said and smiled hesitantly.

Randy nodded and smiled that same crooked smile he had when Kelly had passed him back the ball at the park. She really had to get away now.

"Well, I'm on my way out. My sister is waiting for me in the car," she said to him.

"Oh yes, go ahead. Sorry to keep you," he said and laughed. "Have a nice rest of your day Kelly."

She only nodded a thank you and headed towards the front desk. As she did she heard the bathroom door open behind her and then Randy's voice.

"Hey! You look better," he said to Tiffany as if he knew she was going to be instead of worrying about her. He probably did it so as to not make her feel bad about herself or maybe that was just the way he was?

"Yeah, I'm ready to get back to work. Thanks Randy, you always save me. You're like a hero," she said and even though she couldn't see them Kelly could just picture him taking her into his arms for a gentle hug and laughing. She then realized why her jealousy had hit before when she'd seen Randy take a breathless Tiffany away.

It wasn't because she wanted to be with Randy even though he was so good looking but she realized it was because she wanted what Tiffany had. Randy reminded her of Adam, Adam who had always been there to help her. Adam who looked tough on the outside but was the most gentle person on the inside.

She was jealous of Tiffany for having someone to save her since Kelly didn't have her hero anymore.

* * *

_**I had planned to write another segment but my brain is dead tired from thinking so much! I hope you all enjoyed it and please review! Let me know what you liked and what you didn't. I like hearing it all! I will work hard to give you Chapter 4 soon!**_


End file.
